Easter Sunday when Jesus arose! It was nothing but net. Allelujah
Kaylee keeps asking to watch, “All dolphins go to heaven.” ah….you mean dogs, kaylee?
I always make myself a coffee before feeding the kids breakfast. After all, the airline teaches us to “first secure your own oxygen mask before helping others.”
Pastors: are you the shepherd of your church or the sheep dog? #Jesusisshepherd #i’mjustadog
Our dog is a year old now and training her has been interesting. I’ve never had a dog before, famously being a cat lover until our last cat turned me against the species for life.
By the way, our 4 yr old really wants a pet black panther after a recent visit to the zoo. She asked me what they eat.
“Steak,” I said, “and also us.”
“Why do they eat us?” she asked.
“Because you and I are made out of steak.”
Her eyes got really big. I expect her to become a vegetarian when she hits her teen years.
Anyway, back to the dog….so Lisa and I have been training her, but not really and not consistently, so she’s sort of 40% trained. It shows the most when we’re playing fetch in the back yard. If I go outside with the dog and a bag of treats, she is fully obedient. I’ll throw a toy, she’ll fetch it, run back to me, drop the toy at my feet and sit looking up at me. Complete 100% obedience. But if I don’t have any treats, she simply won’t obey. I’ll throw the toy, she’ll fetch it and feign like she’s coming back with it, but when she’s 3 or 4 feet away from me, she’ll start to squat down and look at me like she wants to be chased. She’ll run close, then run away. When she runs close, I’ll tell her to sit and she’ll look right at me, full eye contact and NOT sit. She’s out of control. It hurts me a bit that she will only obey when she knows she’ll get a treat.
#nowIknow howGodfeels.
“If the Sermon on the Mount only challenges the structures of society and not the way you treat the person across from the table, we’ve failed the Jesus who challenged structures and institutions while, at the same time, treated every person as if they were the only person left on the planet.” — Reflections on Jesus’ Most Difficult Words – Joshua Graves: Exploring the Collision of Culture & Faith
“We are the most inarticulate generation to come along since… you know… like… a long time ago.” — ~ Taylor Mali
(Source: scribd.com)
Last year I went to a story telling workshop by Ira Glass. He is host of “This American Life” and in my opinion, is the finest story teller alive today.
His goal: tell stories that are exactly human sized.
Our media finds or even manipulate stories to be larger than life. Sensationalized in order to grab people’s attention or money. (The current Charlie Sheen craze comes to mind.) On the other spectrum, your boring uncle tells stories that are smaller than life - they don’t move you at all and they seem petty.
Ira says a modern story teller will learn to discover and tell the exactly human sized stories. Everyday people. Concrete examples. Extraordinary stories.
I love that.
I see a very dangerous trend happening in Church communication nowdays. We somehow think we have to fall into the media trap of telling sensationalized stories. Some of Christian media’s best sellers right now are books that challenge us to be sensational, but do so in an abstract, undefined way. Some recent best sellers degrade the global church by caricaturing it as some kind of super holy group of super Christians and then compare that caricature with the American church with its laziness and apathy.
No doubt, the American church is lazy and apathetic. Its the natural consequence of a culture giving you everything you want. But the global church is no picnic either. I’ve worked with pastors in Kenya, Haiti, Dominican and Mexico and none of them would describe their churches as healthy, let alone holy. In fact, we have fast bonded by realizing that our discipleship challenges are freakishly similar.
What people at our church are most hungry for are not abstract, sensational challenges, but concrete examples of everyday people following Christ. Exactly “God through human” sized stories.
I pastor a suburban, predominantly white middle/upper class church. Yes, I am the most uncool pastor in America. My hairstyle hasn’t changed since I was 13, no tattoo to be found and once in a while I even drive a minivan.
Thank you for continuing to read :)
The truth is, I LOVE our church. LOVE IT. Because the people are unflinchingly honest and equally open. They spend their own money to visit a global partner. They arrive there with no agenda other than to serve and bless. They work hundreds of hours to fund raise for a family battling cancer. They spend their own money to adopt a child because of their theology. One of our children gave up his 7th year birthday party gifts so people would give to our Kenyan partner. Concrete, exactly human sized examples of what happens when God works in every day people.
For every larger than life abstract challenge to “live radically” I can show you a man, woman or child who is living concretely and exactly human sized. And God is using these people to do extraordinary things.
“Becoming a Christian in a place like New York is more often the product not of one decision but of many little decisions.” Tim Keller. Same in Colorado, I think
surveying the wondrous cross and contemplating what it means to “pour contempt on my pride.” What a powerful turn of phrase!
enjoyed the Grammys tonight. Encouraging my lady to change her name to L.IS.a Cuss
checking the church mail is a stark reminder that we have way too much marketing and self promotion and way to little loving in church leadership circles now days
“Do not pay attention to every word people say, or you may hear your servant cursing you— for you know in your heart that many times you yourself have cursed others. Eccl 7:21,22” — thank you, Solomon, you jerk!
I like to read, but 95% of what I read is non fiction, so periodically I go on a “fiction binge.” My last fiction binge was 2009.
yeah, I said periodically - what do you want from me?
anyway, its time to delve into the classics again. I try to read “a book I should have read in high school.” Last time it was Steinbeck, Hemmingway, Faulkner and Harper Lee. Harper Lee doesn’t really count - I read “To Kill a Mockingbird” every other year or so.
This time, its Twain, Dostoevsky and Dickens. I’ve read Twain and Dickens before, but not much. Dostoevsky will be my first Russian experience. Since this blog is moving toward a confessional tone, I’ll admit to never having read Tolkein.
I know, I’m an unschooled heathen.
Twain first - Huck Finn. Haven’t read it since elementary school.
then off to Crime and Punishment, then I’ll see.